WAS SOMEONE TRYING TO SCAM SAMSUNG GALEXCY S3? Samsung: Galaxy 'S3' burns not caused by smartphone

On Saturday, the Korean hardware maker said an independent assessment by Fire Investigations UK (FIUK) found that "the energy source responsible for generating the heat has been determined as external to the device".

The tests looked not only at the damaged smartphone but also other Galaxy S III handsets, Samsung said in a blog post. The Android-powered device has energy-hungry components — a 4.8-inch screen and a 1.4GHz quad-core processor — requiring a hefty 2,100mAh battery.

However, the investigators found "the device was not responsible for the cause of the fire."

"The only way it was possible to produce damage similar to the damage recorded within the owner's damaged device was to place the devices or component parts within a domestic microwave," FIUK said in its report, according to Samsung.

In a post to the same Irish messageboard on Friday, 'dillo2k10' retracted their original statement about the incident, saying there was "no fault with the phone" and suggesting someone else had caused the burns when trying to dry out the Galaxy S III.

"The damage to the phone was caused by another person, although they were attempting to recover the phone from water, this later caused the damage shown on the phone," 'dillo2k10' wrote. "This was not a deliberate act but a stupid mistake."